Once Upon a Time in the North is a fantasy short story by Philip Pullman published on 3 April 2008 in the United Kingdom. It is a prequel to the His Dark Materials series.
Plot summary
On 14 April, Lee Scoresby, a 24-year-old aëronaut, and his dæmon Hester land in the town of Novy Odense, a harbour town on an island in the White Sea belonging to Muscovy, looking for work.
Scoresby stays at a boarding house where he meets Victoria Lund and helps her with a matter of honour. The next day, Scoresby meets H van Breda, a captain whose cargo is being held by Larsen Manganese. With the help of Iorek Byrnison, the panserbjørn, Scoresby defeats the men in the warehouse, including an old enemy, Pierre McConville. Lund and her now fiancé Lieutenant Haugland assist Scoresby and Byrnison in their escape.
Extras
As well as the short story, the book includes a few extras:
- Peril of the Pole, a board game mentioned in the story which is based on the Rally to the Pole race.
- A newspaper article written by Oskar Sigurdsson about the events of the story, painting Scoresby as a villain.
- Two pages of The Shipping World Yearbook, the book which Scoresby won with his balloon in a bet.
- Two letters written by Lyra Silvertongue, one to Tom and one to Dr. Polstead, about her dissertation.
- The submission slip for Lyra's dissertation.
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